


Whumptober 2020

by TwistedSamurai



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: "Take me instead", Abuse, Bleeding Out, Blood, Bloodloss, Branding, Broken Bones, Carrying, Deals with gods, Defiance, Delayed Drowning, Drowning, Gods, Grief/Mourning, Infection, Isolation, Kidnapping, Loss, M/M, Manhandling, Multi, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phobias, Pleading, Poison, Poisoning, Posioned Weapons, Rescue, Rescue Missions, Struggling, Support, Trail of Blood, Whumptober 2020, broken trust, chained, dirty secrets, magical healing, tied up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:06:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26877910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedSamurai/pseuds/TwistedSamurai
Summary: Whumptober 2020 prompts. Since I'm also doing another prompt list for the month, I'm doing 7 days in one every week. So enjoy these every week as I try to keep up with all of it. There's going to be a ton of different fandoms in this one, so they'll all be tagged accordingly as I add them in.
Relationships: Original Dungeons & Dragons Character(s) & Original Dungeons & Dragons Character(s), Reno/Rude, Rufus Shinra/Tseng
Kudos: 6





	1. Week 1

**Author's Note:**

> Week one prompts: Waking up restrained, kidnapped, manhandled, forced to their knees, caged, rescue, “stop, please”, Support, carrying
> 
> I used a couple extras from the list, since I liked the idea. Caged is not really as obvious here, but instead of caging him in a cage, I thought to just use it as in he was stuck in the room. Please enjoy.

Aki didn’t know where he was, or what was around him. All he could remember was that he was alone. The truth of that statement had him gritting his teeth as he tried not to think about how that battle had played out, in the end. He had lost. His men had been defeated and he alone was the last one standing. It had been foolish to bring so little against this group of troublemakers, but he hadn’t known they were this large.

Instead of killing the general then and there, however, they had surrounded him. He had to admit it had been easy to take down a few of them before they’d managed to grab onto his hands. His swords had been tossed away somewhere, and multiple hands have been used to knock him onto his knees, effectively holding him down as a knife lifted his head up.

He couldn’t break free, with so many hands holding him down. Even if he twisted and turned, it was no good. There was so many hands holding him it left him unable to even twitch, let alone try and break out. Aki noticed them moving and standing aside. He glared at the man who approached him with ease, crouching down so they were face to face. He had a wide smirk as he looked over how the blonde was pinned down on his knees and took the knife before twirling it in his hand right in front of Aki.

“General Aki Takahiro. The worlds best strategist. I’m sure you didn’t plan for this, did you?” The leader of the men taunted, before spitting on his cheek. Aki simply glared, not moving a muscle as he kept his eyes focused on the man in front of him. “… Hm. For an ice cold man, you sure are a pretty thing…” Aki waited until he had moved a little closer, before spitting. It hit the man in his eyes, he remembered. The he had heard someone move, and his vision had faded to black.

He knew from the pounding in his head that had been someone hitting him. He could feel a bit of blood on his temple, and when he went to wipe at it, he realized his hands were tied. Blonde hair fell loose around his shoulders- no doubt they’d yanked it from the ponytail dragging him along. He was chained to a wall, he noted as he moved his legs a little and heard the drag of the chains on the ground. There was a sharp pain accompanying that feeling, and he grit his teeth but stayed silent on the pained noise he could feel bubbling up in his throat.

“Looks like he’s no more a royal guard than the rest of them. He hasn’t woken up at all… You don’t think that little hit to the head did any real damage to do you?” Despite the ringing in his ears, he could still hear the voice of the guards outside wherever he was. His hands were tied behind his back and even if they weren’t, he didn’t want to trust that they couldn’t see him. Moving his leg was more than enough to tell him that he was too injured to even attempt escaping. Aki dared to open his eyes a little, wincing at the light coming from the window overhead.

“Nah, I doubt it. He’s one of the King’s trusted men. Takes a lot more than a pommel to the head to kill one of them… I don’t know if you heard though, but…” The voices trailed off into a low whisper and he found himself grateful for it. The sunlight alone had given him enough of a headache without the added voices from outside the room.

He slowly realized he was in what was probably their leader’s room. It was covered with tons of things, from clearly stolen items, to half broken things he couldn’t even begin to tell what they were. Aki had a brief thought that his somehow looked familiar. He shook it off, cursing himself for not having sent a guard back to warn Pomare to send more men before the door opened and there was a curt dismissal of whatever guards were already at the door. He closed his eyes quickly as he saw boots cross the carpet towards him.

Silence settled over the room again. Aki didn’t move a muscle, barely daring to even breathe before there was a small huff. He thought they would leave, for a moment, before there was a loud sounding thud followed by a scream. It took a moment for him to realize that he had made that noise- the boot had slammed down onto his leg and the sickening thud had been the same boot slamming down onto his injured leg.

“There we are princess. You think you can pretend to sleep around here?” The man crouched down, and Aki glared at him through his hair. “Don’t gimme that look. You killed quite a few of my best people out there, General. An before you, we’ve had far too many problems doing our jobs. We’re paid a lot of money to stop those shipments from going through.”

“Your bosses are crooks. They’re get what’s coming to them in due time, as will you.” Aki hissed, but it choked off as he tried to move his leg a little. He grit his teeth as a hand grabbed his hair, lifting him up so they were face to face. He coughed at the smell of the man’s breath, trying to turn his head away but the grip in his hair kept him from moving.

“Wouldn’t do that. You’ll only damage it more. Pretty sure they broke it thanks to all your fighting.” The man replied. “But it won’t really matter much. We already sent out a bounty for you. Your partner ah… General Wayan? Said he’d pay it all. Headed here right now. Seemed so awfully concerned about you too.”

He knew this was just to rile him up- Pomare wouldn’t rush into the middle of an enemy camp just for him. Kinda surprised me your friend is so damn determined, but I suppose that’s what you dog do for each other hm? Loyal to a fault.” Aki grunted as he was thrown back against the wall. He glanced down to see his leg was at an awkward angle, and fought the bile rising in his throat as he instead focused on the man in front of him.

“And what is it you plan on doing?” He demanded, leaning back against the wall. Everything in his body hurt, and the pain in his leg was only getting worse by the moment now. Aki half hoped Pomare would show up and that he actually was rushing to his rescue. But he pushed that thought away. “What do you get from the King’s Generals? We don’t have the money or status you think-”

“Money and status? Is that all you rich assholes think about?” There was biter laughter and Aki yelped as his foot was nudged, sending another shockwave of pain up his leg. He tried to move his hands from behind his back, to do something to defend himself, but only managed to make the leader in front of him laugh. “Your partner should be here in a few days. But I want you to know exactly why you need to stay out of our business.”

\- - -

Aki could barely remember the next few days. The leader- Adrien, he had learned- woke him up early in the morning. He was forced to eat and drink some stale food and water, and then Adrien would leave him alone for a few hours. He had a routine, the blonde noticed. Wake up, call for a bath. He would force Aki to eat while it was filled with water, and then he would bathe while Aki tried to fall back asleep.

He didn’t really seem to even care that the man was there at first. Not a word was said while he bathed or got dressed for the day. He would leave shortly after, and Aki would be left alone for hours to fade in and out of consciousness. His hands had at least been tied in front of him instead, and his leg had been fixed and put into a cast when his lunch was brought to him.

It was after Adrien came back, drunk and blabbering, that Aki had to worry. The man threw things around, and when he noticed that the blonde was stuck in the corner, whatever frustrations he had were taken out on him.

Aki barely had any time left to scream or shout as Adrien beat him almost every day. He would growl and snap about some kind of fight he had had during the day, or just the fact that no one had shown up at all. It had been a few days, he guessed by the way Adrien was more and more annoyed that there was no sign anyone was even coming.

“Damn useless piece of… We should have just left you with the rest of your useless group.” Adrien snarled one night, kicking Aki in the ribs. The blonde coughed loudly. He noted absently there was a bit of blood in his mouth, curling up a bit to try and protect himself. He could feel the throbbing pain through his entire body as Adrien continued to kick him. But he refused to make any noises or give him the pleasure of hearing the pain that was being inflicted upon him.

Adrien used small healing spells after the first time he coughed up blood. Never enough to properly heal him, but enough to keep him from being too seriously injured. The constant state of being half healed left Aki weaker and weaker every time he came back. He never knelt down to hit him, just kicked him all over. Sometimes he would reach down and grab his hair, drag him upright only to kick him down again.

He barely looked up as Adrien stumbled in drunk one evening, body already tensing, but the man didn’t hit him. He swaggered over, kneeling down with a wide grin. The smell of alcohol was almost enough to make him gag, but he simply kept his gaze on the floor.

“I’ve got a lil surprise for you.” He slurred, the grin faded as Aki kept his gaze firmly on the floor, refusing to look. “Awe what? Are you mad? Don’t be, pretty boy. Your rescuer is here!” Aki’s gaze snapped to the door in horror as Pomare was dragged in and thrown in front of him. The large man let out a low groan of pain and Aki shifted as best he could to get closer. Adrien’s dagger against his throat stopped all movement however as he felt the small trickle of blood that went down his throat.

“… Leave him alone.” Aki whispered, staring up at Adrien. The man tilted his head, studying the blonde for a moment before moving the knife and pushing him back against the wall. “No- No please. Please stop.” He couldn’t make his voice raise any more as he whispered the words he had repeated the entire week. Adrien ignored him as he moved over to Pomare, and he tried to speak again but cut off by his coughing. The blonde couldn’t seem to make his body move at all as Pomare lunged forward.

The brunette took Adrien down in seconds, leaving Aki to stare at the pool of blood that inched closer to him with every second. He hadn’t really had any time to blink, only stare at the red spread farther and father, staining the carpet as it went. He closed his eyes, not really caring to pay attention as he heard the fighting from the guards at the door. The sound faded after a few moments, but he simply stayed there, too exhausted to see what was going on. He knew that Pomare had one by the loud panting and silence that followed. There was some dragged, the sound of keys jingling, and there a few beats of silence before footsteps got closer and closer.

Grey eyes stayed closed until he felt a hand gently touch his cheek, and he stared through narrowed eyes up at the brunette leaning over him. Aki frowned a bit as Pomare undid his hands, reaching up to touch his cheek and brushing his finger under the cut there before simply rubbing the stubble and realizing how much he had missed that feeling. “You’re hurt.” He said weakly.

“I’m hur-… Aki.” Pomare whispered, leaning into the hand before leaning down to press their foreheads together. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here faster. I’m so sorry I couldn’t have been here right away.” He undid the chains around Aki’s feet, before carefully kneeling at his side. “I need to pick you up. There’s men outside who can handle the rest of this garbage.”

“Pomare. My leg…” He warned as the other put a hand behind his back. Pomare murmured a soft agreement, lifting him into a sitting position. Aki leaned against him, letting his head rest against the mans solid chest as Pomare supported him and tried to figure out the best way to lift him up.

“Okay. I need to carry you, love. I’m going to go as slow as I can.” The warning was a small whisper and Aki nodded as he was slowly picked up. Pomare’s hold on him was gentle, and Aki could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “Just stay awake for a little bit longer. At least until I can get you to the healers outside.” He pleaded as Aki closed his eyes, moving carefully outside.

Aki noted how quiet everything was, as they left the building. He forced his eyes open as they stepped outside and looked around them. The night air was cold, and he shivered as it picked up a little, the chill burning his wounds. Pomare shushed him gently and Aki realized he had made a small noise of pain.

“General Wayan, sir. The medics are just outside with the carriage.” Aki looked over as a man saluted them and Pomare stopped walking. He recognized the man, and his brow furrowed a little as he tried to remember where. “General Takahiro. I… I’m sorry, sir. That I left these men to take you captive.”

“They thought he was dead with a lot of the other men. But he made it back to the castle just before the ransom note.” Pomare explain as Aki stared. “He led us back to where you were attacked, and then helped us find you.” He tightened his grip a little as he spoke. It was the only sign he gave that he was worried at all, that he had been worried and stressed. Aki had no doubts that his husband had been frantic he was missing, but he felt pride knowing that he hadn't shown it at all in front of their men.

“Good job, soldier. What’s your name?” Aki asked, trying to focus on his breathing. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and the cold evening air did little in the way of help. He could see a few other soldiers looking towards them from the corner of his eyes but ignored them. He focused instead on the man in front of him. Something seemed to click in his brain- when they had been fighting, one of the men had stepped behind him, watching his back as they fought. It had been this solider here, he noted.

“Adrien, sir.” He replied. Aki almost laughed at the irony of it, but he could barely seem to do more than nod in reply. Hearing a few whispers he grit his teeth for a moment. Not only had he been beaten by the groups leader, but the man who saved him had the same name. But he had done well, and Aki knew by the way Pomare spoke of him, it had been mostly thanks to Adrien that he had been rescued. He could only think of one thing that would really stop the men from whispering about him, and he coughed a little before speaking.

“… Consider yourself promoted here and now, Adrien. You’re going to work directly under me from this moment on, and I’ll make sure it’s noted you were the reason General Wayan could make it to me so quickly.” Aki said, raising his voice as much as he could. He was trying to keep his voice from showing just how much pain he was in, and felt a brief sliver of satisfaction that the whispers from the other men stopped. The man stared in shock before snapping into another salute. “Inform the other soldiers here that no one else is to know about this. You’re in charge of clean up here.”

“Y-Yes sir! Right away!” He stammered before running off. Aki closed his eyes again as Pomare started walking, carrying him to the medics.

“Don’t leave my side. Please.” He whispered as Pomare set him down for the medics. He couldn’t open his eyes again, too exhausted. “Pomare.” He added in almost a panic when he felt Pomare’s hands moved from him.

A warm hand grabbed his own, and Aki squeezed a little. “Sh… Sh, I am right here Aki. You’re alright.” Pomare whispered, pressing his lips against Aki’s knuckles as the healers started to check him over. Aki had a brief thought that the other soldiers would see them, but he was distracted by the feeling of soothing healing magic coursing through his body, and then the lethargic effects of a sleep spell. “I’m not going to leave you ever again. I promise. Get some rest, love. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Aki tried to answer, but his body was too heavy. He felt Pomare’s hand in his own, radiating a calming warmth, and held on tightly for a moment before succumbing to exhaustion. At least he hadn’t shown any weakness to his enemies when he was there. As the men cleaned up, he was taken back to Dorastir. When he opened his eyes once more, in his own bed, it was to his husbands smiling face and he couldn’t help but smile back. He knew Pomare would keep his promise- and they wouldn’t leave each others side again.


	2. Week 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whumptober Prompts 8-14: Isolation, “Take me instead”, Trail of blood, defiance, struggling, Broken Trust, Delayed Drowning, Branding
> 
> Hoo boy this one took me a long while to do. It was really taking these ideas and seeing exactly how I could make them all fit together differently than what I thought others would do this week. I really hope it worked.

No matter how hard he seemed to try, he couldn’t get air into his lungs. Every time he tried to draw in air it only caught, leaving him coughing and gasping instead. Tseng tried to move, to fight his way out of it. There was no way he was going down, he thought in his panic. Not like this. His vision swam almost as much as the water that seemed to be around him, and he tried to pull himself out of it as he heard something near him.

“Tseng… Tseng!” He turned towards the voice, fighting to keep his mouth closed so none of the water could get into his lungs. But his limbs felt heavy, he was sinking farther from the surface with every move. His name only seemed to be getting louder as the seconds passed, even as his vision gave way to black and his eyes closed just as he felt something sharp touch his cheek.

Sharp- it hit him again. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get his attention.

Tseng forced his eyes open, trying to look for the source. He didn’t see any water around him. Just wide glowing eyes inches from his pillow in the corner of his vision. His bedroom was quiet, save for the gasping of his breath as he stared up at the ceiling. The blankets were all over the bed, and he felt Pagoda hit his cheek again, the small kitten not quite getting that he was in fact not asleep any more. “I’m awake, princess.” He reached out to gently pet her head, smiling a little. Pagoda purred and pressed into his palm before moving to rub her cheek against his. She only seemed to get louder as he rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. “You’re always here to wake me up when I have such bad dreams, hm?” He murmured softly, the smile widening a little. Tseng glanced at the time, his smile instantly fading.

Four in the morning. Well, at least he’d slept longer this time then he had the past week. The leader of the Turks groaned as he forced himself to sit up, still holding Pagoda against his chest. She didn’t seem to mind the movement at all as Tseng stood up and made his way to the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot. She did mind however, when she was put down on the floor. Which she made clear by yelling.

“I just put you down.” He scolded before crouching to pet her. “Honestly you act like it’s the end of the world.” His tone was soft as he pet her for a moment. It was small middle of the night things like this that really made Tseng feel more human, and also more isolated. The cold from his kitchen floor on his feet as he pet Pagoda, with not a sound outside the windows of his home.

He sighed as he stood up again, leaving her to rub against his legs as he started the pot and turned his gaze out the window to look up at the Shinra building, which cast a bright glow through the window and over him. He frowned deeply, leaning on the counter and barely even noticing the cool surface against his stomach.

Somewhere in Junon, Rufus was probably trying to come up with some way to get back here, he thought absently. It was a jarring thought, still. The spy that had been giving Avalanche secrets, the man funding the enemy, was the same man who had shown up to save Rude, Reno, and himself from execution. Rufus had kept him out, after the years they had spent together, with Tseng protecting him and assisting the man, he had managed to keep it such a secret from him.

Tseng turned his gaze away from it to grab a cup, staring at the mug for a moment before setting it in front of the machine. He headed for the washroom, running a hand through his hair to get it back and out of his face.

The Soldier’s had had a hard time tying his hands. He fought them the entire way- even managed to knock a few of them out. He’d been forced to his knees after fighting off a few of them, and had his hands tied tightly behind his back. Mostly just because he was a Turk, and they had no trust any more for them. The tightness of the rope had Tseng hissing through his teeth, and he studied the bruising marks that were still on his wrists from it. But instead of trying to sweet talk his way out of things has he presumed they had expected, he had asked one thing.

He’d pleaded with the President when he’s been brought in front of him, that day, for Reno and Rude to live, and that he would take all the blame. It had been the first time in his life that Tseng could ever remember doing so. Despite everything he had been taught, and all that he had done for Shinra, he was told they would be killed, and their department would be closed completely; and Tseng had begged for the lives of others to be spared.

Reno and Rude were all the family he had left- and they were being left in the dark about their fate. He was the one who was covered in blood, not them. He had let things get his far. They had a chance to escape and he had a chance to help them get out. So he had tried to use it, despite Heidegger’s laughter and the jeering comments about his loyalty to Shinra. Tseng had felt his heart sink at the thought he wouldn’t be able to protect them both.

But Rufus had stepped in, argued with his father as he cut Tseng’s hands free and helped the man to his feet. Tseng had been completely stunned by this- by Rufus stepping up to help them and effectively saving them from execution. It had given Tseng a glimpse of the president he would become, in that moment.

But he had been the one to betray them, he reminded himself as he stared at himself in the mirror and dried his hands off. Now he was under house arrest in Junon, away from the public and away from the Avalanche allies he had made. Tseng sighed heavily as he made his way back out to the kitchen and glanced at the almost full coffee pot.

He grabbed the sugar, pouring it in and then the coffee. The soft clink of the spoon as he stirred it made him smile a little- Tseng had a rather sweet tooth, compared to Rufus who drank his black. So when he brought the man his cup he always made sure to keep his in hand. The one time he had set both of their drinks down Rufus had made the mistake of grabbing his and had spit it out almost right away, gagging at the sugar.

Tseng had quickly switched the cups around as Rufus demanded what the hell he was drinking. If he even liked coffee with his sugar, and he had snickered a little at it. Rufus had been unable to keep his annoyed expression at that, and the two had actually laughed a little as Rufus had looked over the last reports from Tseng that he had needed to see. Every report he had brought Rufus had only been there thanks to a trail of blood, he thought to himself as he took a sip of his coffee and headed for the bedroom. Pagoda ran in ahead of him, using the stairs he had gotten for her at the foot of the bed to get up onto it and lay on his pillow as he set his coffee on the bedside table.

“You’re really going to just curl up there and leave me to work?” He murmured as he grabbed his laptop and sat down. It was too early to go into the office yet, but not too early for him to look over emails. He’d been made the Director of the Turks; mostly just a position for them to laugh at now since everything had to be run by Heidegger. It was enough to make Tseng grit his teeth at just the thought.

He turned his attention away from that as he waited for the laptop to load up, glancing across the room at the bookshelf. It had books covering most of the shelves, but the top shelf was cleared of that. Instead were photos- all things that had been taken over the years. There were photos of him first joining the Turks, of him in the office, and even just photos of the others messing around with cameras.

His gaze was drawn to one photo, however. Of Rufus when he was younger, just made Vice- President and going to a conference. Tseng had gone out with Rude, the two on their first mission together to watch the blonde. It had been a learning experience for all of them, that conference.

A trail of blood… Tseng frowned as he started to enter his information in, tapping the keys. It was more than just splatters of red on the ground, leading someone to something. It was every report he had every filed, every mission he had ever gone on. A trail getting darker and thicker with every job Shinra gave him. At the end was a stoic leader- a man who had closed himself off to the world after it had broken his trust with it and left him alone.

After Rufus had left him alone.

Tseng’s fingers hovered over the keys, password half entered. The caret blinked at him, waiting for the rest of it to be put in. But Tseng only moved is fingers away from the keys, looking back up at the black and white photo. It wasn’t that the world had betrayed him, he realized. But that Rufus had kept him in the dark over this for so long.

Now the silence outside seemed to close in. He was alone, in the large home. It was given to him as Director and he had moved out of the apartment he had been given. Reno and Rude had taken a smaller house nearby, in the Shinra employee housing. They were probably still in bed, he thought briefly. Warm and together.

But he was here, with a small kitten sleeping on his pillow, cold floors and warm sheets all he had. Even if he turned on any music, the silence around him would stay. If he called anyone, it would only fill the space for moments, before he would be left alone, again. Rufus had done that- he had been there for Tseng, had had a strong fire in his eyes and a defiant attitude to everything that got in his way.

He was the only one who knew about his nightmares- that Tseng had trusted to tell. Even Veld hadn’t been told. Rufus was someone Tseng thought would understand and that he could trust. But the man had lied to him.

Tseng shook his head as he grabbed for his coffee again. But he didn’t look and cursed as he simply hit the cup. It fell to the floor with a loud crash, shattering and knocking coffee everywhere. Tseng didn’t move off the bed, watching as it spread across the wood.

Would his blood spread like that, he wondered suddenly. When he died, would he be left bleeding on the ground. Or would he have the ability to try and crawl for help, leaving a trail of blood not unlike the ones he had himself had to follow all these years. Still the coffee only spread farther across the wood. There was no real plan to get up, his mind was almost numb as Pagoda moved to the edge of the bed. She wiggled a little, as if about to try and jump down but he quickly grabbed her and headed out of the room to grab some towel and watch the glass.

Pagoda started meowing again, squirming, and Tseng sighed softly, setting her down as he grabbed a can of wet food. Normally he only gave it to her as a treat, but he scooped it into the dish and left her to eat it as he cleaned up the coffee on the floor and swept up the broken mug. Making sure there was nothing left that she could get to, he headed back to the kitchen and made a new cup, glancing out the window again.

Tseng glanced at the time again, realizing with a jolt it had almost been an entire hour. He almost laughed at that- Reno had made comments that he would end up brooding his life away if he kept at it. Tseng had waved it off and ignored the comments. But here he was- thinking about the past and losing time.

He’d been branded a traitor by his family for leaving Wutai and siding with Shinra. Shinra had branded him almost the same and now he was only alive thanks to Rufus. Rufus was now gone, in house arrest far away from all of them and branded a traitor himself. He let out a slow breath as he grabbed his phone before pulling up Rude’s number. Sending a brief text to come over for breakfast and coffee- he doubted Reno was awake yet- Tseng glanced at his coffee before heading back to the bedroom and closing the laptop.

Work would have to wait until he got into the office, he decided. He was going to spend his time this morning with his family.


	3. Week 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a few weeks late but the prompts for this were
> 
> Magical Healing, Hallucinations, Dirty Secret, Phobias, Grief, Lost, Infection
> 
> So have Shivan making a deal with a god to work as their servant. Because Shivan has a LOT of plot importance in the campaign and a lot of stuff to him.

There was blood on the tiles, Shivan noted absently. It was dark- there was poison the blade that had stabbed into him and it burned his skin. But he couldn’t scream anymore, focusing now on the dark red blood. It was covering his hand and trailing down the solid white floors of the building. But he couldn’t move from it, couldn’t get out of the blood. His entire body hurt, and it wouldn’t listen to his brain at all. Which only annoyed him even more as he heard the loud cheers from the men near him.

They had attacked the temple of the gods- hazel eyes flicked around, trying to focus through the haze of pain and on the bodies of the other clerics. Shivan could see they were gone, and realized that once he had bled out enough, he would follow them too. If they didn’t stab them to make sure they were all dead.

He had only been in training, but he knew the reasoning for it all. They had claimed that the rebellion moving against the King Tribe had an inside source. That someone in the temple knew who the inside source was, and they had broken the laws of the land by betrayed their leaders. When they had denied it and said they did not listen to the King family and the gods were their keepers it had caused them to fight back.

Healers were mostly what they were. A lot of them were like Shivan and still in training. A lot of them were now gone.

He grit his teeth as the laughter sounded, echoing through the room. There was no reason to laugh- nothing was humorous about this and he felt tears sliding down his cheeks to mix with the blood. It would stain the tiles, he thought numbly. But it wouldn’t matter to them. They would find puppets to put here, people who would explain their deaths as betrayal like the family had wanted.

But Shivan didn’t want to admit defeat. He heard the sound of heels crossing the room, and frowned a little. None of the soldiers wore heels. They came closer before he could see them. Blinding white like the tiles, only they didn’t stain red at all. He couldn’t lift his gaze to look at the man, but one thought was in his head- he was beautiful.

There was a cool hand on his forehead, and he closed his eyes. This was the end, he thought. But then the man spoke. Shivan forced his eyes open enough to meet the man’s gaze. “Your fate is not to finish things here, young one. I will show you what your destiny is if you take my hand.”

He could have laughed. There was no way he was going to move, even if he so badly wanted to. The poison was burning through his body and getting closer to his heart with every thump. His vision was dark, save where the man’s light seemed to shine through. If he left, Shivan knew that darkness would swallow him whole and that scared him.

“You can, child. Just reach up.” Fine. If he wanted him to prove he couldn’t move. Shivan stared at his arm. But his fingers twitched as he thought, and there was a flare of hope. He could move. He tried to lift his hand, gritting his teeth at how heavy it suddenly felt. But there was a chance- a promise. This was not his fate and he could change it.

The moment his hand touched the one offered to him, he felt the immediate effects of a healing spell. It coursed through him, chasing out the poisons and stitching him up. The raw power of it caused him to cry out in pain. But he didn’t let go of the hand, only tightened his grip. If he stopped, there was no way he would be able to get up again. There was no way he was letting it happen, he was going to get revenge.

“They will suffer in their own time. If you will but listen I can explain everything.” Shivan slowly nodded. He didn’t know how this stranger knew all the answers, or how he had gotten into the temple. But he had a strong aura that demanded attention. It demanded his focus, and he gave it willingly. There were answers- brief glimpses of things he knew and things he didn’t understand at all. Soft whispers and shouted oaths that had never been said but were clearly made.

“They tried to poison our food before this. I helped the spy Tsubaba pass on information when I was at the castle.” He babbled suddenly, spilling the truth. “If I had told them when they came in what I had done, none of them would have died here. They would have been alive. They wouldn’t be dead.”

“Hush. It was not your fault. You have picked the winning side in a battle that had been building for years now.” He said. Shivan frowned softly, closing his eyes and shaking his head fervently. “Do you doubt me?”

“… No. I don’t doubt you. But I don’t think I made the right decision either.” He whispered.

“If you had told them the truth? That you were dealing information? They would have killed you, and then killed those around you as well. Burned the church and killed the spy you named. But because you kept that hidden from them the rebellion lives on and they now have a plan of attack.” Shivan knew those words were true, could see what would have happened in his mind clearly.

“How do you know so much, how do you… You…” He trailed off, wide eyed as the man smiled softly. Shivan dropped to his knees. He didn’t remember standing but he couldn’t. “Dulion. The god of Beauty…”

“And the God of Fate.” Dulion shook his head. “You fear blood, death, and have faced both… I am here to offer a way out of that. Should you wish to accept it.” There was no way he didn’t already know the answer, as Shivan nodded and was pulled to his feet. There was a gentle touch to his neck, before Shivan was opening his eyes to the cold tiles of the floor against him.

He was still covered in blood. Could still feel the dull pain of the poison that had left his system. But he could move again, and he could hear the sounds of the soldier’s making their way through the bodies and the slick sound of weapons in bodies. He rolled over as one of the men raised their weapon against him, heard the shout of alarm.

But he could feel power welling up in his fingers and moved without thinking, taking down the men and women in the room within seconds. Shivan stared at his hands in wonder before he looked at one of the shattered mirrors. He could see his reflection still in the broken pieces, and gently touched the pale mark around his neck. The blood didn’t stain the pale white marks there, and he smiled a little.

Being a servant to a god meant sacrifice, he would learn quickly. But despite the grief, the lack of friends now in his life, Shivan had no regrets making any deal. So long as he didn’t need to see blood on the temple floors any more, he was fine to continue with his life.


End file.
